The Dealers Association represents eleven automotive dealers in the eight-county area surrounding the City of Detroit, one of the nation’s largest automotive markets. One of the primary duties of the association is to review marketing plans for the dealers in the region, and to respond to the initiatives of the manufacturer.
The association retained AEG to conduct a new market analysis for the region, including a critical evaluation of the previous market study, an assessment of the impact of employer-sponsored sales in the market, and the effect of altering the number of dealers in the region. We used our Geographical Information System (GIS) facility to assess consumer expenditures in specific trade areas within the region and the effect of changing dealer locations. A separate simulation analysis highlighted the effect of price incentives offered to employees of Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, as well as their suppliers.
The AEG study identified a number of serious shortcomings in the previous study, and was instrumental in persuading the manufacturer to adjust its plans for the region.